Bayern earns a draw at Old Trafford

Just when it looked like David Moyes’ stay at Old Trafford was getting counted, his boys did almost the unthinkable. They just could not pull off a miracle. Just one mistake and they squandered away the golden opportunity to restore some of their pride which is at stake after a disastrous season. This 1-1 draw with the defending champion in the Champions League can easily be regarded as one of their best performances in the current season. It could have easily been 1-0 or 2-0 but for a defensive lapse and a poor miss minutes before half time that United are still in danger of going out of the tournament before the semis.

The result of the match, however, does not give a clear idea how it was played. Right from the very beginning, as expected, was a battle between the Bayern Munich attacking line and the Manchester United defense. In that the United defense has passed out convincingly except that one let off in the 67^th minute which enabled Bastian Schweinsteiger to equalize. United even looked quite sharp on the counter-attacks and the goal which Nemanja Vidic scored in the 59^th minute, though from a corner, was the result of one such lethal counter-attack. Michael Carrick had a great game as a defensive midfielder while Phil Jones played his heart out to ensure that the Germans did not get any clear goal scoring opportunity. Later on in the dying minutes Bastian Schweinsteiger was shown the second yellow card of the match after a lunging tackle on Wayne Rooney, though it seemed that it was more of Rooney’s play acting than the rashness of the tackle that forced the referee to take such a decision.

With the next leg coming up on next Thursday Manchester United will be on a high after a confidence boosting performance at home. But the job will be much tougher at Munich as United has to score to cancel out the away goal that they have conceded. On the other hand, Bayern will come hard at United in their own backyard to secure a place in the last four.

• About the Author

About Argha Ghosh

An ardent follower of sports and die-hard Manchester United fan, Argha's ultimate dream is to watch a Manchester derby from the Stretford End at the Old Trafford.